FATES WARNING — Parallels (review)

FATES WARNING — Parallels album cover Album · 1991 · Progressive Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
5/5 ·
Time Signature
Leave the past behind...

Genre: progressive metal

This album has been described as Fates Warning's most commercial release ever. Well, it may be commercial, but, if it is, then it is probably one of the best commercial releases ever. I mean, compared to a lot of commercial music at the time, the quality of the music on this album is lightyears ahead.

And, for the record, I do not think that "Parallels" is commercial. It is melodic, but melody does not equal commercialism. One of the strong points of this album is, indeed, melody. The vocal melodies are simpler than on any previous releases, and it's nice to be able to actually sing along. Also the combination of distorted and clean guitars create a quite unique sound, I think, and I also like how the guitar riffs themselves incorporate melody. But the album never descends into the lowest common denominator of mindless pop music, because the compositions retain some of the Fates Warning technicalities that ensure that the music is, while catchy, still challenging and interesting to listen to.

I think this is one of the best progressive metal albums of the 1990s, and I would recommend it to fans of progressive metal, but also fans of melodic commercial hard rock, because I think it offers the melody they tend to appreciate, but add another dimension that is typically missing from commercial hard rock.
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